Not to be rude, but the shavings should be aluminum and a magnetic pen shouldn't pick anything up.

 

no actually you are right. however, the magnetic tip did pick up some shavings oddly enough. don't know why...

 

I guess it could be leftover rust or gauld metal from the plug or an insert. Hopefully not stuff from inside the combustion chamber.

 

well, it was all new fibers that it pulled out. but, like you said, it could have been what stripped off of the plug.

if anyone is curious, the reason ford hasn't recalled this defect, or the reason that the government hasn't forced them to, is because if they recalled all of the affected motors from all of the affected year models, it would be the most expensive and most labor intensive recall in the history of the automotive industry. I'll see if i can find the article.

REMOVED by moderator krewat - no place for legal or other discussions. That web site is known to be a nest of lawyers. You do the math

what ford should do is admit they have a problem and just opt to warranty the the heads on the engines should it happen. Don't do a recall, but be willing to fix the problem instead of charging $3000 to fix an $8000 vehicle.

 

Like I've said before about this topic. If my truck spits a plug, Im just going to end up replacing the motor. I'm not going to spend $2500 or what ever it is when I could spend between $5000 and $6000 to replace the entire engine. IMO its dumb to spend that kinda money to just replace a head.

 

I had to remove that link, that site is a nest of lawyers.

The very same lawyers who had a hand in the NHTSA investigation into blown plugs, LIED ABOUT IT, and when NHTSA found out that the "victims" didn't have the engines die or go on fire, when the lawyers already said it DID happen, it might have actually went somewhere. Instead, they immediately closed the investigation for no other reason than the lawyer's lied on the application.

Anyway... (whew!)

What Ford should have done is not buy into the marketing hype of 100K mile tuneups, given their engine design.

What Ford should have done is immediately admit (quietly, and to themselves) there was a problem (see note 1 below) and either change the heads for free when there was a problem, or get development going on an insert kit that can repair the head without removing it.

What Ford should have done is immediately accept an insert as a warranty fix, instead of paying a tech to change an entire head for one plug hole. And get that insert kit out there in techs' hands way before they finally did. By now, there'd be an air tool you place on top of the hole, hit the button and it puts the insert hole in for you, all the while pressurizing the cylinder to push any metal out the hole (instead of relying on grease to hold the cuttings).

But for some reason, that didn't happen.

Just think how much cheaper the entire thing would have been if an insert was acceptable for warranty, even with the warranty out to 100K miles?

The plastic intake on my '96 t-bird was in a "program" that extended the intake warranty out to 7 years and unlimited mileage. It was also used Mustangs and in Crown vic taxi's with the 4.6L, hence the unlimited mileage.

My '97 Cougar? Same intake. Blew in 2003. Covered under that program? Nope. Earlier Cougars were, but not mine. Same intake. Of course, the car was only 6 years old, but I did it myself and was only out $300 for the manifold. It needed a coolant flush anyway



--

Note 1: Modification dates for addressing the plugs:

December 1996 - 4.6L 4V alignment feature added
February 1997 - 4.6L 2V head alignment feature added
September 2000 - WEP (Windsor Engine Plant) 2V head alignment feature modified (4.6/5.4/6.8)
November 2002 - WEP introduced long thread heads on 2V (all)
May 2003 - REP (Romeo Engine Plant) introduced long-thread heads on 4V 4.6 and 5.4
November 2003 - REP introduced long-thread heads on 2V and modified alignment feature


They knew as far back as 1996 or 1997 that something was up. Or more accurately, that something was happening in the field that they didn't count on. By 2000, it was obvious.

Still, who knows? I hear Ford allows an insert to be used under extended warranties, so maybe they'll be pushed into covering it - by some more lawyers.

NOTE: No legal discussions here... passing references, OK, but leave "I'm going to sue" out of this (and all) discussions.